Implicit Strength
by JamKa
Summary: She used to stutter, shaming her clan and its legacy and in return karma shamed her by taking away what she couldn't herself appreciate. KakaHina. SasuHina. Pairing Undecided.
1. Un

**Hi there!**

**New story... its pretty experimental as I've never written action scenes before and I've never written something that didn't revolve completly around romance or smut. Seriously... I'm not ashamed to admit that ;)**

**Warnings: rating may go up. *gasp* Couple at the moment is KakaHina but it might change to SasuHina or GaaHina.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor do I plan to. The only thing I own is ... shuttup.**

**and quick note... Reviews are the bomb. Drop in give me a word or two. Tell me to write more smut... you know the usual XD**

**xXx**

"Your opponent is Neji" Shino eyed the girl beside him knowingly. "Give up" Shino hadn't missed the way she was shaking, how her hands were clenched so tight that her knuckles were white. He saw how her eyes kept flickering to the board displaying the name of "Hinata Hyuuga" and "Neji Hyuuga" like prizes, in disbelief. He also saw how her breathing had quickened with fear but what scared him the most was that she was steadying herself to take a step forward.

'Almost as if she were going to fight… no she wouldn't' He then realised she was going to _fight_ her cousin, the Hyuuga genius and that she knew might be going to her _death._ He grabbed her arm and pulled her in front of him, ignoring the gasps that reverberated around them.

An Aburame never initiated contact, _never_.

"Hinata do not do this." His voice was even but Hinata knew that beneath that jacket were thousands, maybe _millions_ of bugs capable of incapacitating her in an instant if she tried to fight her cousin. She looked to the hand that was clasping her forearm and saw the kikaichu already swarming. So she did what she could and blocked all of his tenketsu. Teardrops stained her cheeks as she watched him slump against the wall, paralyzed but not in pain.

"No, I will fight him." Her voice was free of her stutter as she whispered. She then repeated louder as her eyes swept across her now very large audience. "I will fight him." Her voice was bold with adrenaline as she looked back at her paralyzed teammate fondly, recognizing the lengths he went to, to keep her safe. "I will not let you down Shino-kun or Kiba-kun, I will fight to prove myself for myself and no other because that is my ninja way."

Shuffling out of her jacket, Hinata ignored the comments and exclamations that went around, especially ignoring the ones about her _appearance_ underneath the jacket. The jacket was her last vestige against the hurt of the world and to be a shinobi she had to remove it. From across the arena she missed her cousin removing his headband, showing the glowing green brand across his forehead, for the first time showing his peers his caged bird seal.

The brand that exposed their family for what they were, heartless, cruel and hell bent on obedience.

The stifling silence thickened as the two white eyed _ninjas,_ stepped out onto the brown dirt that their predecessors had all stood upon, the same dirt on which would be stained with each others blood. Young appearances aside these were two shinobi trained in the ways of the world like no other, who were ready to kill for what they believed in. Blood and death were what was destined for the children in this arena and they were part of the handful that knew it all too well. One carried the burden of her family's pride and the scars of her father's insecurities while the other carried the burden of fate and the weight of imprisonment.

They were family but in the world of shinobi that wasn't enough to hold them together. The unsettling stares of teammates and teachers felt as though they were looking straight into their bodies, which was ironic as they were the only two people in the room with the power to do that. Famous white eyes met each other as both Neji and Hinata settled into modified jyuuken stances.

The match was called to start and no movement was made. Both had their kekkei genkai's were activated.

Time stretched on but the first strike made was not physical.

_"Forfeit or die." _

His only response was to dodge a flying kick aimed at his head. A series of kicks were then directed at him, to which he swiftly countered and dodged. Batting away her kicks with hands glowing blue with chakra. Every time he touched her leg a bruise would form, his chakra bruising her at the slightest touch. They broke away suddenly as Hinata changed her tactics seeing the plain and obvious difference in their strength. They used the same fighting style but the way in which they executed it was as different as black and white.

Neji is meticulous, thinking through his every move making sure that everything is logical and needed; a true soldier. While Hinata is like water, fluid and uncontrolled going with what comes to her, deadly in its unpredictability but weak in its initial strength. A strength like Hinata's had to be honed and constantly tested and is not helped by the repetition and block formality of the traditional Hyuuga battle style. The one Neji so _proficiently_ excelled at. More hits were taken and many were deflected. The damage to Neji was minimal while Hinata was struggling to slow her breathing, her laboured breaths loud against his even breathing.

"Weak." Hinata's soft voice barely carried over to Neji and that gave him sick pleasure knowing that she could barely keep up with him. The_ heiress_ to the clan which has taken his freedom could not keep up with _him_ a branch member. Oh yes, Neji liked this feeling. He didn't acknowledge what she was saying till she started repeating it again and again. "Weak weak weak weak weak wea-…"

"Hinata-sama forfeit now… it is your destiny to be weaker than me, stop this now" he cut her off getting bored of her _self-loathing_. She had no idea of real pain, she was part of the reason why his father had died, all to protect the clan's precious heiress. What a shame that the heiress was so weak.

"NO!" That was the first time anyone had ever heard Hinata yell and the silence that followed it was deafening. Neji stopped preparing his chakra in shock.

"You are the one who is weak Neji-niisan" She took a tentative steep forward, her hands covered in blue flames as she settled into her gentle fist stance.

"You are consumed with a hatred for me because I'm part of the main house, when you are constantly trying to prove yourself worthy to be in the main house!" her eyes were like ice as she raced forward. They were on par, matching each other kick for kick, punch for punch. They broke away once again, Hinata's arm hung uselessly at her side all of its tenketsu points blocked while Neji shifted his weight onto his left leg as his right leg had a large gash running down the side of it from a kunai.

"Who do you think was the one who received father's beatings for protesting against your seal? Me!" Neji ignored her, what good would it do to believe her _lies_? He rushed forward and reappeared behind her in the air, delivering a chakra enhanced kick to the left of her spine right behind her lungs that propelled her forward till she rolled along the floor, unmoving. Slowly and shakily she stood up coughing blood into her hand. She wiped her hand along her shirt watching, not caring that it seeped through and stained. Now her shirt was as stained as she was, useless.

He stood away from her unmoving.

_"Why do you stand up? Fate is something decided at birth and no matter what you do, no person can escape their destiny."_

His cold voice cut through her. She knew that he didn't believe her but she also knew that she was standing on a _precipice_ and that her next words would decide how this match ended.

"I stand because I've decided that it's my destiny to be strong. What about you Neji-niisan? What's your destiny?" Her lavender eyes glinted like steel, like a true Hyuuga as he froze and heard her words for what they were, the unmistakable truth that he'd been trying to deny. His eyes narrowed and his body started shaking with rage. What did she know of destiny? She was free while he would always be a caged bird, obedient and imprisoned. Rage filled his mind as his whole world squared onto the ninja in front of him. Killing intent was choking the air. The sound of shuffling was all that could be heard for the next minutes as the two Hyuugas were pitted against each other using their own variations of the gentle fist style. No loud smacks were heard as neither needed brute strength to fight.

From afar the spectators watched in awe as two very different styles of gentle fist clashed. Neji started concentrating his chakra into his hands steadily preparing for the final attack. Hinata deliberated her next move as he rushed forward, hands glowing with concentrated chakra. Preparing to dodge she wondered why he would do such a thing

"No…" she recognized this, if it hit her she would go into cardiac arrest. Panicking she quickly made the hand signs to activate the caged bird seal which glowed sickly green against Neji's white pallor. Neji lost focus as he recognized the hand seal, panic settled in quickly before being replaced by rage just as fast. He then did the unthinkable, he missed.

_The genius prized by the Hyuuga, missed._

His hand had been angled higher than intended and the trajectory of the attack was changed. Instead of a fatal hit to the heart his hand made contact with her throat, breaking his cousin's vocal cords and fracturing her vertebrae. Before he could inject any more chakra to make the move fatal he was kicked back by a jonin. Hinata had no time to activate the seal when blinding pain shot through her. Her hands flew to her face as she tried to scream.

Her severed vocal chords making no sound only a bloody gurgle as the pain intensified so much she blacked out.

Medics rushed to Hinata, not even bothering with a stretcher, hands already glowing green with chakra. Desperately trying to heal the damage and stop the blood. If they didn't stop the bleeding now she would die. It was a reality all shinobi had to learn to deal with but none were expecting it so early. From the sideline a devastated Shino watched from the sideline while being held back by a crying Kurenai. The jonin holding back Neji struggled as he fought back like an enraged animal. Screaming protests until they were forced to knock him out and drag him off to the infirmary.

The image of blood coursing down Hinata's throat as she tried to scream and the picture of her eyes filled with terror and pain was burned into the mind's of all shinobi present. A dark atmosphere hung around all the shinobi as they all watched the now blood soaked medics call for Kakashi, the only able to put Hinata in a coma. Sharingan activated Kakashi swooped low and used his fingers to pry her eyelids apart before looking into her glazed eyes, he then shunshined out of the arena holding Hinata, into the infirmary.

The exams were postponed till the next day in respect.

**xXx**

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**Review are what's going to help me decide whether or not I continue this.**


	2. Deux

**Hi, let's get this story rolling yes?**

**First up … I've taken some liberties with this fic as my Naruto knowledge aren't at the amazing level they should be. Basically I made Tsunade Hokage already even though I'm nearly 100% sure she isn't Hokage yet. Also with the ages I'm only putting um Hinata and Kakashi's as they the only characters that really matter. Ask me for any specific ages only if you really, really, really want to.**

**Hinata – 13**

**Kakashi – 20**

**Zahra007 this is dedicated to you! You fantastic person you, people like you are the reason why people like me love to write ^^**

**Here's the chapter I've been promising you XD**

**xXx**

The council of Hyuuga sat in the meeting hall discussing the newest gossip like every other person in Konoha. The news of the prodigal Hyuuga nearly killing his closest of kin was a hot topic. Within hours of the actual event taking place every resident of Konoha knew and absolutely every resident had an opinion.

_Some were less favorable than others._

Rumors of incest and clan secrets were bubbling and the rate at which the gossip had reached the all seeing eyes of the Hyuuga proved that the Hyuuga not only had all seeing eyes but a vast spy network that was as complex as it was hidden.

Their informant had come straight from the exams and had explained everything in detail leaving nothing out. The Hyuuga council of elders had taken time for the information to sink in before deliberating. The council of Hyuuga sat stiff backed as they discussed the fate of one they barely even considered worthy of the name _Hyuuga_.

"A kunoichi with no voice?" The air bristled as steely white eyes regarded each other stiffly.

"Yes, yes a most precarious thing…"

"…-and what of the branch house boy? How is he to be punished for impairing a main house member?"

"…-but she is no longer the clan heir?"

"That means nothing. She was once the heir, he should know his place better than that."

"Indeed"

A shriveled old woman with hard eyes regarded the other members of the council with distaste. She herself knew that kunoichi's have always had it worse. An ex-kunoichi herself she knew the pains of being underestimated but she also knew its advantages. The men in the room thought her to be inconsequential there for they talked freely around her, or as freely as an emotionless Hyuuga could. Umeko did nothing to stifle her smirk as she watched the men in front of her do the Hyuuga equivalent of squabbling.

This new _disability_ was proving itself to being very interesting, _very_ interesting.

"Never underestimate your enemies…"

White eyes flickered precisely hiding their anger at being interrupted as they all focused on her.

"Umeko-san, you do not mean to say that you believe Hyuuga Hinata to be an enemy of the Hyuuga because she underestimated the branch member do you?"

The cold eyes of Hiashi glinted at the slight on his blood. Did this _woman_ honestly think her position on the council held any meaning? She was only here to appease the Hokage. A well-rounded choice made by both males and females is what she insisted upon. Hiashi mentally scoffed, who ever heard of a woman making the decisions, other than the Hokage of course, she wasn't a woman she was a kunoichi first and foremost.

_Something his daughter, Hinata never learned to be._

In the dark of his mind a little voice asked him if that was how he felt about Hanabi, his most prodigal _daughter._ His brow furrowed ever so slightly as his mind drifted. The only main branch choice for heir to the clan was one day going to be a woman. His reverie was broken as the strong and assured voice of the only female in the room rang true.

"Isn't a kunoichi with no voice more useful? If trained properly it could be an advantage. Imagine, along with a caged bird seal she would have no physical way of ever betraying her village's most secret information? Or more importantly her clan?"

Moments ticked as the Hyuuga contemplated it.

"Umeko-san?"

One council member leaned forward and tipped his head high, unnoticeable to any other than the Hyuuga but the action had the desired effect. He was showing his disgust at the woman before him.

"What is that you ask Hiraku-_sama_?"

Umeko spat out the suffix as if it were poison. She disdainfully lowered her eyes in the respectful way of acknowledging her superior.

"What about genjutsu? A shinobi of Hinata's caliber will never be able to…-"

Sensing a breakthrough the elderly woman continued with a renewed vigor never seen before in the old woman. She interrupted him halfway, her madness holding all precedent over her etiquette.

"A modified seal on that activated at treasonous thoughts, whether that be to Konoha or the clan."

The words produced a hush in the room rarely ever seen the Hyuuga clan. The woman's words were assured and the dangerously tempting charisma of a person who completely believed what they were saying. Like the words of crazed fanatic or radical, they held the power to hypnotize and hypnotize they did.

Her eyes were shining with a twisted, sadistic light.

Through her skewed perspective and persuasive words this terrible accident became like a blessing.

"She is weak, that makes her controllable and now with her _new_ impediment she will be questioning her use as a shinobi. This is where we come in, the honorable Hyuuga will reach out a hand to an injured comrade and accept them into our house" Umeko had raised out of her chair slightly and the sadistic glint in her eyes held the men in the room captive. "We will redeem our selves in the eyes of Konoha and the Hokage by accepting the failure that we so harshly extradited. All the while gaining the perfect doll to which we can mold to our liking"

The unspoken words hung heavily in the stunned silence. This could be the final stepping stone for the Hyuuga to finally surpass the Uchiha, their eternal rivals. To them, it was an amazing gift, a ninja that could not speak. In their eyes a horrific injury was spun out and stretched to become a gift, a shining beacon in the dark for the old fashioned Hyuuga. Slowly but surely the madness that had been reflected in the old woman's crazed eyes took over the people in the room. Till finally the all seeing eyes of the Hyuuga council were glazed with the madness of wanting more and _more_.

"She could never repeat anything we told her."

"Completely severed vocal chords she will never make a noise again"

"A silent, controllable weakened shinobi waiting for redemption?"

"Its probably better, she couldn't speak before the accident anywa-…"

"Enough"

The words that had previously been flowing rapidly through the room halted as the Hyuuga quieted under the command of their leader.

"It is decided" Hiashi's eyes locked on Umeko's "The Hyuuga will extend a hand to the previous heiress. She will be treated like a hime till fully recovered." At this a few members made to protest but were cut off by the harsh glare Hiashi shot them. "She will then be subjected to training to become our weapon. If she had not made ANBU within a year she will have her byakugan taken and placed in Hanabi" smugness appeared in Hiashi's eyes as he recalled how Hinata's byakugan had always been better than Hanabi's.

"If she is to become aware of our plans and will no longer have a part in it we will have to revert to threatening Hanabi with the same treatment she used to receive." His mouth twitched at memory of beating Hinata for her kindness.

"I trust that there are no questions."

The silence that answered him was a boost to his ego as he swept up, gracefully in flurry of expensive fabric. "Umeko-san"

"Hai Hiashi-sama?"

"You are to have you place on the council annulled for interrupting Hiraku-san"

Without another word the clan leader swept out the room indifferently as the old woman was left to deal with her humiliation.

The rest of the council rejoiced. Hinata Hyuuga would once again become their pawn. To use as they wished, no matter what.

**xXx**

Back in Konoha hospital a troubled jounin sat without infamously reading his Icha-Icha books. The copy-nin looked tired and worn as he looked down at the cause of Konoha's hottest gossip. Kakashi rested his hand cautiously on the eyes of his newest student. Using his calloused thumb he traced the eyes of the young kunoichi who had experienced to much for a girl, no _child_ of her age. The girl was barely 13, so young but already jaded with the cruelness of life.

She in many ways resembled his students but in many ways she was no where near the same. Shaking his head he scoffed at the person who told him that being a sensei was easy. If he was honest he'd rather be reading Icha-Icha on a life or death ANBU mission with a 98% of dying than being a sensei again.

Borrowing Nara, Shikamaru's favourite phrase, being a sensei was just too _troublesome._ With a sigh the jounin settled in a chair next to his charge, knowing full well that without a little push she would sleep into oblivion and he didn't blame her. Pinching the bridge of his nose he lifted his hand from her eyes, taking in the sight before him. Hyuuga Hinata lay sleeping but not asleep. His genjutsu kept her from doing that. Her mind was alert and working while her body rested.

This was to get her to come to terms with her injury. He knew all to well that coming to terms with loosing a sense is maddening. He only wished that he the luxury of being put into a coma when he lost his eye. Subconsciously he lifted a hand to fiddle with the headband that secures his sharingan from view. It was a painful reminder of his failure to save his friend.

Brushing the painful thoughts to the back of his mind, Kakashi activated his sharingan making the tomoe spin lazily before delving into the subconscious of the girl before him.

**xXx**

A soft noise echoed in the broken space of her mind. The sound of a child sobbing was playing on repeat around her but she herself was no longer crying. She was merely existing, lying in the welcomed darkness trying in vain not to fall into the depression that threatened to consume her, _body and soul. _There was no present or past, no beginning and no end. There was just space and pain.

The pieces of her life that used to fit together lay shattered. Leaving a broken mess in the space that used to be her normalcy. She clung to the pain, the only reminder that she was indeed alive.

A stray thought brushed past and she grabbed at it frantically. There was something she should be remembering, something important. Looking thoughtfully at the words that were literally floating around her she wondered pitifully why she could see her thoughts. Without warning the stubborn thought broke through her muddled mind. Closing her eyes in pain, the startling reality that she was in a genjutsu was too much for her shattered conscious to accept and she pushed the information away as if it burned her. Settling back into the darkness, she contemplated letting go of the pain. Letting the darkness wash over temptingly, she could no longer tell if her eyes were open or closed. The thickness of the dark a comforting hug compared to the pain which held her to life. _It was oh so tempting to let go…_

A burning light erupted in front of her lids and she sat abruptly. Feeling vertigo smash like a train into her already pounding headache she quickly lay back down.

"Now, now Hinata…"

That voice was familiar to her but she couldn't place where. She didn't want to know where. The darkness was all that mattered. It was the only thing that could take away the pain.

"Be a good girl and stay alive yes?"

The voice without a face was pulling her forcefully into the pain. Strong hands gripped her shoulder as she was dragged into a sitting position. Pain flared like chakra around her neck but she couldn't for the life of her remember why.

"The darkness… put me back in the darkness"

"Hey there, I'm just trying to help you"

Her head snapped up, wanting to inspect this person who thought bringing her back to the pain was going to help her. A familiar figure stood in front of her, or at least she thought he did. Lifting her eyes she activated her kekkei genkai or was it always activated? The genjutsu was playing with her reality. The silver hair of the renowned copy-nin stood defying gravity even in her current state of surrealism. A hysterical giggle threatened to break her resolve as she remembered that first impressions with this man were everything. The giggle did indeed slip through as she remembered that the man in front of her quite frequently giggled like a schoolgirl.

"I don't believe I remember ever asking for help _scarecrow_"

Her attempt at being cold and harsh was thwarted as she broke out into hysterical laughter. A concerned hand was laid upon her shaking shoulder as she cried tears of pain while her laughter rose in pitch. The sound was anything but cheerful and it sent a chill down her bones to hear it. The pain of her situation bored down into her like nothing she had ever felt before. It was more painful that her father's beatings and colder than his sternest glare.

Her eyes met his and she noted absently that both his eyes were uncovered but his famous mask still stuck in place. Her laughter quieted a bit as she watched the spinning tomoe in his left eye. He lowered himself into a familiar crouch as her laid his forehead against the forehead of the broken girl. "I know you want this suffering to end and that is forgivable" His soothing words held little comfort as she realized the genjutsu was starting to fade.

"Then let me. Please oh kami… let me." Her voice cracked brokenly as her voice started to leave her. Starting to panic she twisted and tried screaming as she clawed at her throat only to find her hand being held back. Throwing a dirty glance up to Kakashi, she yelled at him with her eyes. _'Let me go' _the words weren't spoken but he could hear them resonate in the air around him.

"I'm sorry." With those last words he broke the genjutsu around them.

For a split second Hinata was left to watch wide-eyed as the comforting, black void around her splintered and cracked as reality and awareness crept into her previously comatose consciousness. Hinata had never been more scared of waking up then she did at that moment. In the last second before waking up she threw her head back and screamed.

The blood-curdling noise, very much reminiscent of the scream heard not to long ago. The scream sounded exactly like the one she had made when she had first passed out in pain after the fight that changed her life forever.

**xXx**

**Thank you to my reviewers you were all amazing!**

**Yoru nekozawa-sensei, Cream-Bunny, Zahra007, dumdeedum, sumerkiss, softwinds, GoddessAerith, firegoat**

**I'm so sorry for not replying to all of you but maybe if you reply again I can redeem myself? :)**


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